My Uncle’s Firefighting Team

Name of Hero: Joshua

Hero City: Studio City

Submitted by: Annie

I am a student just out of college who spends most of my time helping others in any way I can, rather than with my friends. I’m strong, fast, smart and can crack a few jokes on the job. My parents hate how I decided to help people. I’m a firefighter at my uncle’s fire station. My 2 dads hate how I put my life on the line to rescue babies, pets, toddlers, children, mothers, fathers grandparents out of fires.

I have had some very close calls but one I will NEVER forget last summer 2011, we get a call from dispatch of a fire in a two story home. When then hear there are 4 kids and 2 adults. When we had gotten there the whole house was engulfed with flames. I put my oxygen on and my uncle Joshua or Josh and I went in along with one female firefighter and a male firefighter. While me and my uncle headed up the stairs he told the other two to stay down there because the parents rooms are on the first floor. We were headed to rescue the 4 kids. I found a 6 year old boy named Tommy and a 10 month old girl named Molly. The little boy was scared because I had to break the door down and I guess he wasn’t expecting it. So I get closer to the boy and I tell him not to be afraid and that Im a firefighter and here to rescue him and his family. He was so happy that he ran up smiling at me and told him to hold on so I can grab his sister who was in the crib in the same room.

I made it out with both of them in my hands and I asked the EMT if the other 2 kids came out and he said no. Then I asked if the parents made it out and they did and were transported to the nearby hospital with a PICU and NICU. They were on stand by for the 4 kids in the PICU and the NICU for the 10 month old at the time. I ran back in to look for my uncle on the second floor. 3 minutes of searching for him, I find him holding a 14 year old unconscious and bleeding from somewhere. Josh told me that he can not find the other child and I look in the closet and there’s the other one hiding. He was 6 years old and identical to the other one but his name was Sam. He was scared so I told him that I rescued his sister and brother and there both outside or at the hospital. I told my uncle to go and get out with the 14 year old, who we at the time didn’t know what his name was so that he can get immediate medical attention from the waiting EMT. I told him to tell the EMT to contact the hospital and tell them that they need 3 PICU beds.

Sam and I got stuck in his room so I wrapped him in a fire proof blanket that I had with me and jumped through the door that was on fire. The floor was starting to collapse and I had to get out quickly so I didn’t crawl and plus Sam can’t last any longer in the house. So I risked every thing and gave him my oxygen mask and we got to the first floor. One minute after we got to the first floor and looking around at to figure where I possibly was in the house but after a minute the oxygen runs out and the boy takes the mask off because he doesn’t want it so I unplug it and I find my uncle and he took my oxygen tank and mask. And then a beam on fire falls and so I loose view of my uncle so now I don’t know where he went. I found the kitchen which meant I was half way out of the house. I get knocked onto the floor by a flashback close to me that came from the kitchen window. Then another beam falls and lands on my ankle and the boy is not in my arms he sitting next to me. I finally get my foot out but of course it hurts and I don’t want to scare the kid any more than he already was, so I suck it up and pick him up and limp out of the house.

The window was taken out completely and since the door was engulfed with flames I had to jump out the window. Just as I jump the house explodes but we got all the family pets and people out of the house and we land on our backs but he landed closer to the house than I did. Then there is another flashback from a window on the other side and I get on top of him and keep him from catching on fire or getting burned. The flashback was strong enough that it threw the glass out the window and cut my rip but it was big piece, so I didn’t need sticks cause my jacket took most of the glass. I limped all the way to the ambulance and the EMT wants to check me out but I told him in two minutes because I have to talk to my uncle about why I didn’t have my oxygen mask on.

After that SAM was at the ambulance and the EMT wasn’t going to leave until he saw me. Half way I guess I passed out, I don’t really know what happened but I woke up in the hospital in the same room as the 2 boys because their parents had died before they got to the hospital. We all took in the kids as one of our own and I took the girl molly and the 2 twin boys. But when I woke up Sam was sleeping right next to me on my bed on oxygen through nasal cannula and so when I moved a little and he went crazy and got all happy and runs out the room to get the doctor and my uncle, the chief, was crying outside in the fire truck.

He told me that I almost didn’t make it. But I think he was annoyed at me for removing my mask. But I always put the one I am rescuing first, then myself. We were both very heroic but I was told by many of my firefighter friends that I was way more manly than my uncle was. I wasn’t in the news because I felt that even though I was heroic it wasn’t something I wanted to brag about or get rewarded for. I was trained to do this. This its my job. Its just like the Navy Seal dude who kill bin laden and didn’t want people to know it was him because he felt that he was doing what he was told to do and was trained to do it.